How people learn: the qualifications behind coaches and referees.

Why this page has no technique

Fencing uses steel weapons, and the rules themselves say their safety measures reinforce safety but cannot guarantee it (FIE Technical Rules, December 2024, t.20). Footwork, blade work, tactics and training belong with a qualified coach who can see the fencer. This site does not teach any of it, and it does not recommend clubs or coaches. It does explain what the qualifications mean.

Referees

The FIE

Every bout at an official FIE competition is directed by a referee with an FIE licence for the current season (Technical Rules, t.47.1), and World Cup events need at least four FIE A or B grade referees of different nationalities (Organisation Rules, August 2026, o.4.3).

The FIE's invitation to its referee examination in Cairo, 28 to 31 October 2026, describes how a referee reaches Category B:

• examinations are organised with host federations;
• candidates must be at least 20 and are proposed by their national federation from among its best national referees;
• the examination is weapon by weapon, with theoretical and video parts and separate practical examinations for foil, epee and sabre;
• candidates who pass every part receive FIE Referee Category "B" in the weapon tested, with results published after FIE Executive Committee approval.

Two things could not be confirmed. The criteria for Category A were not found. And whether a European Fencing Confederation C grade is needed before the B examination is unclear: one search-result extract said the FIE requires it, while a 2025 Fencing New Zealand notice said it is no longer required. Neither page could be opened.

The FIE is reworking this area. Under its Strategic Plan 2025-2028 an Initial Working Group is to propose referee training, examinations, licensing and continuing development by the first quarter of 2027 (Information Letter 10-26, 8 July 2026). The amendments adopted by the FIE Congress on 22 November 2025 also require referees, coaches and designated officials at FIE events to tell the FIE of any current safe sport allegation, sanction or conviction before accepting an assignment.

United States: USA Fencing

USA Fencing's referee ratings run, from lowest to highest, P, L2, L1, R2, R1, N2 and N1:

• the P rating follows a rules seminar and an online exam;
• higher ratings need a practical exam by a Referee Examiner;
• R1 referees may be selected for national events;
• N2 and N1 are awarded at the annual Referees' Commission meeting.

Referees must pass the online exam every two years, referee at their level at least every two years and keep their membership; a lapse of more than a year loses the rating. For the head referee at regional events, the ratings page says an N2 is required, while another USA Fencing page seen only in a search-result extract said R1; that difference is unconfirmed.

Coaches

United States: USA Fencing

From the 2023-24 season, USA Fencing requires all Coach members to complete its Foundation of Fencing Coaching Course within 45 days, or their coach membership shows as pending (USA Fencing news, 1 August 2023). The course has five modules, Coaching Essentials, Creating a Culture of Belonging, Elevating your Coaching IQ, Foundations of Fencing and Foundations of Parafencing, plus a final assessment. Coaches at USA Fencing sanctioned events also need a current background screen, valid for two years, and SafeSport training completed within the last 365 days.

United Kingdom: British Fencing

British Fencing's "Get into coaching" page, dated 3 February 2014 and so possibly out of date, describes two levels:

The same page lists the prerequisites for its coaching courses: at least a year of fencing, a minimum age of 17 to attend and 18 to coach, a Safeguarding and Protecting Children course, a valid DBS check and British Fencing membership. A British Fencing booking page seen only in a search-result extract lists a weapon-specific Level 3 course for experienced Level 2 coaches (July 2025); its details are unconfirmed.

The British Academy of Fencing, a coaches' professional body, describes its own accreditation in five levels on its "Initial levels" page: assistant coach, club coach, development coach, advanced performance coach and diploma, with levels 1 to 3 specific to a weapon. It says its examination procedure for levels 1 to 3 is being modified. That is the Academy's own description of its awards.

British Fencing's Safety Guidelines (23rd edition, approved June 2026) also advise that in children's classes generally no more than twelve children per coach fence at any one time, with fewer for young children.

Lessons at competitions

The FIE rules also set what coach and pupil wear when a lesson is given at an official FIE competition. Under the December 2024 text, the person giving a lesson must wear at least a fencing master's plastron, a glove and a conforming mask, and the fencer taking it at least a mask and a glove (t.20). The 2025 Congress amendments, read from tracked-change text (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules could not be opened), add long trousers for the coach and a chest protector, a top covering the torso and shoulders and shorts reaching to within 10 cm of the knee for the pupil (t.20.2). Kit rules for ordinary club lessons are set by national bodies; see youth rules.

Safeguarding

Coaching qualifications sit alongside safeguarding requirements, which each body publishes separately. The safeguarding page sets out the FIE, USA Fencing, British Fencing and Canadian systems.